Wednesday, September 29, 2010

ESPN's Scout recruiting service just released it's updated recruiting rankings and they've moved Notre Dame up to #2 in the country. In the past week, the Irish have picked up one of the top DE's in the country (Stephon Tuitt - #74 in picture) and one of the top WR's in the country (Davaris Daniels). Here's a link to Scout's rankings:

ESPN on ABC just released it's coverage map for Notre Dame's game against Boston College this Saturday night on ABC. Game starts at 8 PM EST. As you can see, only about half of the country (households) will see the Irish play on ABC. Just click on the map to enlarge.

The University of Notre Dame and Kraig Biocraft Laboratories (Lansing, MI) made a major announcement in the past hour. Tiny, genetically altered silkworms in a laboratory at the University of Notre Dame are spinning a novel thread of artificially created spider silk. The resulting thread is twice as strong as natural silkworm silk and 10 times as strong as steel. The thread has a host of possible commercial applications in surgery, healing bandages, ligament repair, bulletproof vests, athletic clothing, improved automobile airbags, etc. "We've succeeded in genetically engineering silkworms so they produce spider webs," boasted Malcolm J. Fraser Jr., a University of Notre Dame Biological Sciences Professor -- who led the research on this project along with researchers from Kraig Biocraft Laboratories and the University of Wyoming. Here's a link to Notre Dame's news release along with a video of Professor Fraser talking about their discovery. I must admit I never thought I would be writing about "silk worms" on my blog -- but it's pretty exciting news coming out of Notre Dame today! Maybe we'll see a GOLD HELMET, manufactured from this material, on our football team some day!

John Carney, who played for Notre Dame from 1984 to 1986 -- was signed by the Super Bowl Champion, New Orleans Saints yesterday to shore up their field goal kicking. Carney, the third leading scorer in NFL history with 2,044 points, is 46 years young! He's a two-time Pro Bowl kicker who was named by Sports Illustrated to Notre Dame's All-Time team. Last season, Carney went over the 300 game mark in his career, becoming only the sixth player in NFL history to do so. Here's a link to a story on Carney's signing. Good Luck John!

University of Notre Dame freshman, Nicole Zhang (Calgary, Canada) let the college golf world know that she'll be a force to be reckoned with as she wins the Mary Fossum Invitational at Michigan State University with a tournament record score! Zhang, playing in her first college tournament, shot 69-67-71 on the par-72 course -- to finish NINE UNDER PAR. Her 207 was the only score under par -- winning the tournament by nine strokes -- and leading the Irish to their first team win at this tournament in 16 tries. Zhang's three day total broke the previous tournament record by seven shots!

Madison Cable, a senior guard at Mt. Lebanon High School (Pittsburgh area) informed Notre Dame Women's Basketball Coach Muffet McGraw that she was committing to the Irish! The 5'-11" Cable is ranked the #57 overall prospect in the country and will bring some length to the Notre Dame backcourt. She led her high school team to their second straight State Championship last season scoring 30 in the final game. Madison was on campus this past weekend for her official visit. Here is a link to a story on Cable's commitment -- and a link to a story about her performance in last year's State Championship game:

The commitment last night of wide receiver Davaris Daniels (pictured) to Brian Kelly's first full recruiting class has vaulted Notre Dame's incoming recruiting class to #3 in the country -- according to Rivals. Daniels, the son of Washington Redskins DE Phillip Daniels (who's currently in his 15th season in the NFL), hails from Vernon Hills High School (Chicago suburbs) -- where he's ranked the #2 overall prospect in Illinois. Here's the most current Rivals Top Ten College Football Recruiting Rankings -- along with a link below to their website:
#1: Texas
#2: Alabama#3: Notre Dame
#4: LSU
#5: Florida State
#6: Oklahoma
#7: Ohio State
#8: Stanford
#9: Florida
#10: Mississippi

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Besides being a lifelong fan of the University of Notre Dame, my wife Susan and I are the proud parents of three great kids; Jimmy (a former Irish Guard), Kara and Brady. I also "triple" as a Senior Director of Marketing & Communications at Notre Dame. So, if you ever have a story idea, thoughts on how this blog can better serve Notre Dame fans, or you just want to talk Notre Dame -- feel free to reach me at; jim.small@ndgoirish.com